The summer season is in full swing and we are enjoying it so much! We've been able to take advantage of some amazing learn and play opportunities, that I'll be blogging about soon. (Perhaps on a rainy day when there's nothing else to do.)

Until then, I wanted to be sure to share Sunshine's newest unit activities with you! Last week, I was a guest blogger on The Jenny Evolution where I shared my Picnic Themed Activities for Tots & Preschoolers. If you haven't seen the post yet, be sure to stop by and give it some love. Sunshine has adored this unit and looked forward to it every day!

Welcome to the Learn & Play Link Up!

Here are this week's features! All have to do with summer learning and fun!

Now it’s time for this week’s link party! This new link up is for all blog posts that include learn and play activities and hands-on education for kids. We are excited to read your blog posts and to see what you have to share! Please link up below and grab our button to display on your blog.

If you are a blogger, share your family friendly posts here. We are looking for things which include:

Montessori Education

Homeschool

Sensory Play

Tot and Preschool Trays

Fine and Gross Motor Activities

Kids in the Kitchen

Healthy Recipes for Kids

Arts and Crafts

Natural Living

Free Educational Printables

Family-Oriented Activities

Healthy Living

Your post will be shown on each host’s blog where we will individually pick features every other week. That means there is more of a chance that you will be featured!

We are a church going family and strive to attend our church meetings each week. This is easier said than done with four special needs kiddos. In fact, if I'm completely honest, Sunday is THE HARDEST day of the week, with Monday coming in as a close second, because of the aftermath of Sunday's events and changes in schedules.

Our three older children have definitely had their ups and downs when it comes to attending church. Dinomite and Bulldozer have struggled for years trying to make it through Sacrament Meeting (our main Sunday service) due to sensory issues. They took three years to transition to primary (Sunday school for children). Just this year Bulldozer has finally started to participate with the other kiddos. Princess loves to attend church and primary, but she's a bit of a handful. More often than not, I receive at least one comment from teachers and/or leaders about particular behaviors each week. Still, she's come a LONG way, and is really doing well. I can not applaud her enough for her desire to make good choices at church.

I thought I would be a pro at the Sunday thing when Sunshine came along, but as always, she's proven to be THE MOST challenging of all. Due to past trauma and neglect, Sunshine tends to react very strongly to situations where she feels confined or restrained in any way. Being required to sit in a pew for an hour definitely falls under that category. She also has some significant sensory issues. Combine those with anxiety when around people she doesn't know, and the situation is not pretty. Sunshine's go to trigger response is fight. Let me be the first to say, this can be very scary and really hurt. Sigh. Matters become worse when Sunshine's fight response turns towards other adults and children.

We've stopped attending Primary, as it's too much for her for right now. All of our efforts and energies are geared towards helping our little girl make it through sacrament meeting. In the past we've tried snacks, books, toys, etc., but nothing has worked. I have been in tears several times as Sunshine has had to be removed from our church building and taken to the van, where she's placed in her car seat, to ensure her safety, and to ensure the safety of those around her. My husband sits in the car with her, waiting for her to calm down and feel safe.

A few weeks ago, I couldn't handle another Sunday of the same viscous cycle. I pleaded in prayer for ideas to help Sunshine, so that we could all make it through sacrament meeting. Thankfully inspiration came. Sunshine doesn't play or attend to any task for any length of time, except when she's doing learning time activities. What if I made Montessori-inspired busy bags for her to use during sacrament meeting? My husband and I discussed the idea and decided we didn't have anything to lose, as things couldn't get much worse than they already were. So, over the past two week's I've worked to put together six busy bags for Sunshine that are appropriate for use in church. Last week we tried out three. The difference in her was incredible. We just hadn't put enough bags together, so she ended up in the hall with my husband for the last 10 minutes of the meeting. Still, this was night and day compared to weeks past.

For as long as the busy bags continue to work, we'll be switching them out about every 4-6 weeks. All activities will be quiet activities, based on church history, religious principles, and/or Christ centered holidays and events. All printables I create will be available for free. I hope you enjoy!

Pioneer Clothespin Match Up

This busy bag contains 2 sets of 12 laminated pioneer themed cards. Sunshine uses the clothespins to fasten matches together. The clothespins really make this simple matching activity extraordinary. It provides opportunities for hands on learning, fine motor development, and sensory input. The best part is that Sunshine is learning about pioneers at the same time. Sunshine LOVES this activity. I presented the activity at home. We did it together, and then she did it by herself before we brought it to church. She was so excited about her new busy bag!

Source: The free printable for this activity is part of the Pioneer Pack from 3 Dinosaurs.

Buttons & Pipe Cleaners

When I think about pioneers one of the first things to come to mind is all of the sewing the women did. Sunshine is a bit young to learn to sew. I don't want to think about the safety issues that would result from bringing a sewing needle to church. We've tried lacing cards in the past, but Sunshine thinks they're kites and starts waving them in the air. Once again, I didn't think this was appropriate for church. Instead I went for a more basic introduction to the concept of sewing. In this activity Sunshine strings the buttons on a pipe cleaner. I've provided multiple pipe cleaners to provide variation to the activity and in case she decides to thread the pipe cleaner through more than one hole on the buttons.

Pioneer Play

Sunshine does better with a very structured learning activity that has an end and a beginning. Pretend play is definitely not her forte. However, I still want to make sure I provide opportunities for her to do so. The Safari Ltd Wild West TOOB has the perfect quiet, hands-on figures to use when learning about pioneers. I removed the Indian characters along with figures who had guns, to provide for more reverent play. My husband and I were a little concerned Sunshine might start acting like the animals in the set, using a loud voice during our meeting, but she didn't. Instead she played quietly for a few minutes, before putting them away and moving on to the next activity.

Handcarts & Wagons

When learning about the pioneers, it's important to learn the difference between a handcart and a wagon. For this activity, Sunshine will examine several pioneer themed paintings identifying handcarts and wagons in each. She will then separate the paintings. Those that have handcarts, she will place under the handcart card. Paintings of wagons, she'll place under the wagon card. The scene in each painting is beautiful.

Source: I created the printable for this activity. For your free copy, click HERE.

Picking Berries Transfer

Many pioneer children had the responsibility of collecting berries while on the trail. I thought it might be fun for Sunshine to practice either using her fingers or tweezers. She won't transfer from bush to basket, but she can practice transferring between two pails. Pom poms are being used as berries to keep the activity quiet. If she decides to be irreverent with the pails, we'll just move on to a different busy bag activity.

Campfire Snack

Sunshine is still at an age where snack is sometimes necessary during sacrament meeting. This activity is my attempt at being creative with snacks in church. Lol. The pretzel sticks represent fire wood. The yellow and orange fruit snacks are fire. Sunshine can build her own camp fire if she wants to. Chances are she won't, but I still think the idea is pretty cute. If you attempt to make this snack, be sure to press a fruit snack into the top of some of your pretzel sticks to keep them together. Fruit snacks along the bottom also help. Otherwise the pretzels just topple over.

Sunshine is already excited about church on Sunday. She was quite disappointed to learn that church is still a few days away. (I was putting the last few busy bags together today and she happened to see them.) I won't lie, putting together these busy bags is work, but if they help Sunshine, the work will be worth it. So far, the busy bags are helping her more than I could have ever imagined. The best part is they can also be used for Family Home Evening and other church activities!

Welcome to this week's Learn & Play Link Up!

I am so excited about this week's features. Pioneer history is very near and dear to my heart, especially this time of year. Whether you are celebrating Pioneer Day, studying the history of the United States of America, or reading the Little House on the Prairie series, the posts featured this week are full of resources and ideas!

Now it’s time for this week’s link party! This new link up is for all blog posts that include learn and play activities and hands-on education for kids. We are excited to read your blog posts and to see what you have to share! Please link up below and grab our button to display on your blog.

If you are a blogger, share your family friendly posts here. We are looking for things which include:

Montessori Education

Homeschool

Sensory Play

Tot and Preschool Trays

Fine and Gross Motor Activities

Kids in the Kitchen

Healthy Recipes for Kids

Arts and Crafts

Natural Living

Free Educational Printables

Family-Oriented Activities

Healthy Living

Your post will be shown on each host’s blog where we will individually pick features every other week. That means there is more of a chance that you will be featured!

I am a professional musician. I have a bachelor's degree in music with an emphasis in voice. My college days were spent in practice labs, singing a minimum of three hours each day. Favorite vocal composers include Mozart, Brahms, Barber and Ives. My favorite language to sing is German. Italian is a close second. I also play the piano. Before children, I had my own music studio and taught private vocal and piano lessons. It is my hope that I can further my music education in the future by studying musicology and choral conducting. Nothing gives me more of a natural high than conducting a large choir.

One would think that with all of my education and experience, teaching music to my children would come easy to me. The opposite is true. It's hard to teach something that comes so natural to me, yet is so foreign to them. I forget sometimes to break down the material into the simplest terms, because I don't think about all of music's parts individually anymore.

The three kiddos have been dabbling with piano lessons for two years now. Dinomite and Princess can play simple songs, using a C Major five finger scale, while reading notes on a grand staff as they play. Bulldozer struggles to read notes, but does well playing what he hears. This year piano lessons will be more formal. Practice will be part of their daily routine.

Dinomite, Bulldozer, and Princess know how to read notes on a staff, when given a control. They know how to play through a piece of music. However, they struggle with pitch identification, rhythm, tempo, and dynamics. I've taught the concepts many times, but they still seem a bit foreign to them because they're just about music and playing the piano. The activities in this post have been created to help the kiddos relate to music concepts in other ways, making them easier to understand. Sometimes thinking about music in other terms, is the best approach to take.

Red Light, Green Light with Music Signs

Understanding signs in music can be a bit difficult for some. I decided to relate double bar lines and repeat signs to traffic lights. When you play through a piece of music and see a double bar line, it means it's time to stop. If you see a repeat sign, you continue to "go" or play. To help the kiddos visualize what to do, I've added a mini match box car, and am treating the line of music as if it's a track for the car to drive in.

The kiddos dip the car in paint and drive across the line of music, depending on the final music notation, they'll either stop, or continue to drive back to the beginning of the piece, and repeat the "race" again. Kiddos may need to dip their car in paint several times along the way. Bar lines make great "pit stops."

I had so much fun selecting sheet music for this activity. Because I am only teaching the concept of repeat signs and double bar lines, it doesn't matter how complicated the piece looks.

Source: I created the printable for this activity as part of my Montessori-inspired Music Activities Printable Pack 1. For your free copy, click on the link at the bottom of the post.

Music Dynamics Sort

My kiddos know the difference between loud and soft, but to remember the words forte and piano, along with their symbols is a bit more difficult. Perhaps it's because they only see the words used in music. In this activity I apply the words to sounds outside of music.

The kiddos will sort objects, placing them under the correct dynamic marking. Control cards are provided so they can check their work. Objects that make loud sounds have labels bold faced. Soft sounding objects are not bold faced. The cards can be used in place of objects if they aren't available.

Source: I created the activity for this printable as part of my Montessori-inspired Music Activities Printable Pack 1. For your free copy, click on the link at the bottom of this post.

Tones in Nature

Dinomite and Princess struggle with identifying pitches as low and high. Sometimes they confuse pitches with dynamics. Other times they mix up pitches, thinking low is high, and high is low. I've introduced bells to them, trying to help them understand the sequence of pitches, but they struggled A LOT. Bulldozer on the other hand did amazing and seems to have close to perfect pitch.

This activity is designed to encourage them to forget about the piano and bells. Instead they'll think and listen to various natural sounds and determine if they are low, medium or high. Once they remember the natural sound pitch labels, I'm hoping it will help them identify correct labels while playing various musical instruments.

The kiddos will look at the cards and imagine the sounds they might hear in the pictures. They will listen to corresponding sounds on the Conair Sound Therapy Sound Machine as a control. Then they will place the picture cards under the correct label. We will do this together several times before they complete the activity on their own. The boys use the sound machine every night to help them sleep and love the various sounds. It is very easy to distinguish low versus high pitches on the machine.

Source: I created the printable for this activity as part of my Montessori-inspired Music Activities Printable Pack 1. For your free copy, click on the link at the bottom of this post.

Conducting 101

My kiddos love watching conductors and have asked if I could teach them the skill. Without hesitation I graciously agreed. Conducting is a fantastic way to teach kiddos about rhythm and tempo. It involves movement of the body, listening skills, and provides a natural control, whether conducting a group of people, or trying to conduct using a metronome.

In this activity the kiddos will learn the value of a quarter note as one beat. Using the Wittner 903014 Taktell Super-Mini Metronome, Black, they will practice conducting two beats per measure, then three beats, and finally four beats. The metronome allows them to conduct at various tempos, first slow, and then faster over time. A mirror is provided as a control for their movements. The kiddos are so excited to try this out. I was hoping to find a conducting baton that was their size to add to the tray, but none of our local music stores carry them anymore. Oh well.

Source: I created the printable for this activity as part of my Montessori-inspired Music Activities Printable Pack 1. For your free copy, click on the link at the bottom of this post.

Fractions in Music

My kiddos may not understand note values, but they LOVE fractions. Why not apply math to music, to help them better understand things? This activity can be done in two ways. First, the kiddos will sequence note values from biggest to smallest, using the Learning Resources Fraction Tower Activity Set as a control. I'm hoping this will help them understand how each music note received it's name.

Once the kiddos feel comfortable with their sequencing abilities, they'll create a note value chart with the fraction pieces. This will come in handy as they start to understand and analyze beats per measue in the future.

Source: I created the printable for this activity as part of my Montessori-inspired Music Activities Printable Pack 1. For your free copy, click on the link provided at the bottom of this post.

Divisions of 4 with Montessori Beads

The kiddos may be a bit young to understand time signatures and how different note combinations can make up four beats in a measure, but they're not to young to come up with their own number combinations, especially when using Kid Advance Montessori Checker Board Beads.

When choosing this activity, the kiddos will lay out several yellow bead bars representing the number four. Each bead bar represents one measure of music. They'll place a tooth pick in between each yellow bead bar to represent bar lines. Then they'll create different bead bar combinations that add up to four, using the yellow bead bar as a control. Eventually they'll be ready to label and write rhythms they've created and play them on various percussion instruments.

Music is a combination of all subjects. When students are struggling to understand specific musical terms at the piano, or while learning any other instrument, sometimes the best thing to do is to teach musical concepts in other terms, using different subject areas and interests. It not only will enhance their understanding, but will teach them that music is everywhere.

There's just something about summer art projects that takes me back to when I was a little girl. Whether it be decorating rocks, weaving, making picture frames or watching relatives create amazing canned jams, fruits and vegetables (which I still have no clue how to do on my own). Just the sight of the activity features this week is as comforting as homemade macaroni and cheese. I hope you're able to take the time this summer to enjoy life's simple pleasures. Be sure to try out one of these feature projects!

Now it’s time for this week’s link party! This new link up is for all blog posts that include learn and play activities and hands-on education for kids. We are excited to read your blog posts and to see what you have to share! Please link up below and grab our button to display on your blog.

If you are a blogger, share your family friendly posts here. We are looking for things which include:

Montessori Education

Homeschool

Sensory Play

Tot and Preschool Trays

Fine and Gross Motor Activities

Kids in the Kitchen

Healthy Recipes for Kids

Arts and Crafts

Natural Living

Free Educational Printables

Family-Oriented Activities

Healthy Living

Your post will be shown on each host’s blog where we will individually pick features every other week. That means there is more of a chance that you will be featured!

Our new school year has started! I had no clue that the timing of it would be so perfect as we wait to see close up images of Pluto for the first time. The kiddos are super excited about it. We've been watching the news almost every night, watching as the camera gets closer and closer. It's all such an exciting adventure.

As always, I never feel ready for the fresh start of the new school year. I had hoped that our new learning time room would be 100% complete and organized. Just yesterday the last outlet cover was replaced. There are still two items that need to be hung on the walls, and a few other things I haven't even purchased yet. Jason and I had discussed how we wanted our learning routines to go this year. The ideas were wonderful and definitely inspired. Have we been able to implement any of them yet? Of course not.

I was getting a bit frustrated with my lack of readiness, but on the first day of our new year when I began to talk about some changes we were going to make, Dinomite and Bulldozer completely melted down. Princess appeared okay, but I knew that when the changes were in full force, she would show me her true feelings about it. It took everything I had to help the kiddos through learning time. That's when I realized, had I finished everything I planned on introducing that first day, and been as organized as I had desired, the day would have been a complete failure. Slow and steady wins the race with my special needs kiddos as always. So, we're introducing one new change at a time. We're all breathing better now.

Moving on to activities!

Language:
What is the pink series? It is the Montessori way of introducing beginning phonics, using short vowel sounds and CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words. The pink series has a specific sequence, as you prepare your little one to read, write, and spell. Once a child completes the sequence of pink series learning activities, he moves on to the blue series, and finally the green series. I came across a wonderful post: The Montessori Pink Series from Our Montessori Home that explained the pink series in detail with pictures, I thought I'd share for those who want to understand it more.

By the end of last year, all three kiddos were proficient at matching objects and pictures with first letter sounds. Dinomite has progressed much farther than that, but we've never officially worked through the pink series material. Princess and Bulldozer are finally ready and interested in it, so it's the perfect time to present it to them.

I've decided to take things extremely slow as Bulldozer and Princess (at times) mix up their short vowel sounds. I'll be focusing on one short vowel sound per unit study, and then progress to all of them once each individual vowel has been covered. I've created a variety of activities on the shelves each week to accommodate all the different learning styles and levels the kiddos are at. Enjoy!

Pink Series: Objects w/ Movable Alphabet

One wouldn't think much about the difference between using a tangible object vs. a picture card as a visual to encourage spelling. Or perhaps it was I who thought there wouldn't be much of a difference. In any case, I learned there is a DEFINITE difference. Bulldozer hates writing and spelling. He avoids all language activities when he can. But when I put this activity on the shelf with the option of using the Montessori Small Movable Alphabets w/ Box or Montessori Cursive Moveable Alphabets with Box, he's choses this activity first everyday, completing it himself without any help. This is truly miraculous to me. You'd better bet I'm going to start collecting more tangible objects. Lol

The object of the activity is to use the movable alphabet to spell the names of the tangible items on the tray. So simple, yet the effects are so amazing.

Pink Series: My Book of Short "a" Sound Words

This is not a traditional pink series activity to my knowledge, but a variation of one. Our tray includes our Montessori Phonetic Reading Blocks for the Beginning Reader. Inside the book there is a a picture on each page. Below is a line for the kiddos to write the name of the object in the picture. If the kiddos are unsure of the proper spelling of a word, they can use the blocks to create the word they need.

Source: I created the printable for this activity as part of my Montessori Pink Series Printable Pack 1. For your free copy, click on the link at the bottom of this post.

Pink Series: Matching Picture to Word Cards

The kiddos will match pictures to word cards in this activity. The word cards are in cursive with print on the back to help the kiddos along with their cursive word identification. I love it when we can make progress in two aspects of studies with one activity!

Source: I created the printable for this activity as part of my Montessori Pink Series Printable Pack 1. For your free copy, click on the link at the bottom of this post. The printable does not include words to match pictures, but instead blank cards with pink borders. I wrote in words using a pink marker in cursive and print.

Pink Series: Phrase & Picture Match Up with Grammar Practice

Bulldozer is my last of the three older kiddos to learn how to read. He's working so hard, but the process is very difficult for him. We've made it through almost all of the Level 3 BOB Book series. He practices reading each book until he's proficient and then we move on to the next. After reading the same word in several books, again and again, he usually can apply it to other situations like workbooks or activities on our shelves. However, he struggles sounding out words because of the vowel sound confusion (and a few other things). I wanted him to feel successful when reading when working with this activity. Thankfully, the activity is a success! The phrases for this activity were specifically chosen to help him work on mastering one vowel sound at at time. For this week, all the words on the cards have the short "a" sound. I've paired the phrases with pictures to help him if needed. After the first day, the control match ups were removed from the tray, as he didn't need them anymore.

When I noticed what type of phrases were used in the pink series sequence, I realized that this activity would also be the perfect way to review the noun family: article, adjective, noun. I included a control card for the grammar symbols in case the kiddos have forgotten which ones are which. I always find it so amusing that Bulldozer knows all of his grammar symbols and definitions but he can't read or spell. The kiddos are using grammar symbols from our new Kid Advance Montessori Basic Wooden Grammar Symbols with Box. Princess has done this activity every single day. She has always loved dissecting phrases and sentences.

Source: I created the printable for this activity as part of my Montessori Pink Series Printable Pack 1. For your free copy, click on the link at the bottom of this post.

Books about the Universe & Planets

Last month we gave our learning time room a make over. It was a huge undertaking and took much longer than anticipated. As mentioned earlier, we're still not finished with hanging things on the walls etc. In August the theme for the 12 Months of Montessori Series is Montessori Spaces. It's then you'll get a complete tour of our new room. (It's been so hard not to share sooner!) For now, I'd like to give you a small preview. This is our new reading corner! The library books on the shelves will be switched out for every unit. If the kiddos would like to read during our learning time, this is where they go. I'm trying to make sure I'm selecting a variety of literary works, both fiction and non-fiction for each unit. Even when it's not learning time, there's usually someone in the bean bag reading.

Math:

Sequencing Planets with Ordinal Numbers

The kiddos will use the picture of the planets in order from the sun as a control, when they put individual planet cards in the correct order, and then label them with the correct ordinal numbers.

Source: I created the printable for this activity as part of my Milky Way & Solar System Printable Pack 1. For your free copy, click on the link at the bottom of this post.

Creating Numbers 1-9,999

The kiddos will use the golden bead bar material and wooden number cards to create and show numbers 1-9,999. When I purchased the materials for this activity, I purchased them as part of the Brilliant Minds Montessori Math Kit. If you'd like a better understanding of how these Montessori Materials can be used, youtube is a great resource.

Creating Numbers 1-9,999,999

The kiddos were introduced to the Montessori Large Bead Frame a few months ago. I love it because it provides a way for the them to understand large numbers in a very visual and tactile way without taking up too much space. You can better understand it's purpose as you watch this video on Youtube. To carry over what the kiddos learned in the previous activity, I added cards from our Montessori Bank Game. The kiddos can create and visualize each number. As they create numbers, they present them verbally to me so I know they understand how to pronounce them. They're getting better and better at this.

Learning Numbers to Decillion

If you haven't noticed my kiddos are a bit obsessed with numbers right now. I've decided to just go with it, especially as it relates directly to our study of the universe. If' there's one subject that includes numbers to infinity, it's this one. Though we are only studying numbers to decillion, it's still plenty for them to try to wrap their heads around. This week's activity is also a great way to introduce the concept of the power of numbers in a way that's not too overwhelming.

When choosing this activity the kiddos will put the numbers in the correct order and then select a few (according to their age) to attempt to write out on the white board provided. This has been very entertaining to watch. Ten to the 33rd power is a LOT of zeros. Lol.

Source: I created the printable for this activity as part of my Milky Way & Solar System Printable Pack 1. For your free copy, click on the link at the bottom of this post. The cards do not have the power of 10s written in. I could not figure out how to do that. To write in the numbers, start with 10 to the power of 6 for million, and then count by threes from there.

Science:

Planet Poetry Match Up

It could easily be debated that this is a language activity, however, since it provides a way to learn about each of the planets, I have it on our science shelves. There are two sets of cards. One set includes pictures of each of the planets. The second set of cards includes poems about each planet. It's the kiddos' job to match up the correct poem to the corresponding picture. Poems come from the book: Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars: Space Poems and Paintings. All of the kiddos have thoroughly enjoyed the poems. I'm in love with the book! Each kiddo has also chosen one of the planet poems to memorize and share. This will be their first time memorizing poetry. I'm super psyched!

Source: I created the printable for this activity as part of my Milky Way & Solar System Printable Pack. For your free copy, click on the link at the bottom of this post.

As part of the early elementary Montessori curriculum, children are introduced to the concept of the universe. This is a BIG concept to tackle. To help the kiddos understand new terminology they're hearing and reading, these vocabulary cards were introduced. So far they seem to be helping.

Source: Jason created the printable for this activity as part of my Milky Way & Solar System Printable Pack 1. For your free copy, click on the link at the bottom of this post.

Creating the Solar System

The kiddos will use play dough to create space. A pencil is provided (not visible in the picture) for the kiddos to draw elliptical lines in space representing the movement of the planets in the solar system. The large yellow pom pom is the sun, which will be placed in the middle. The marbles are reprsentations of each of the planets. They will be placed on the correct elliptical lines circling the sun. The marbles are from Bulldozer's vast marble collection. He was given Our Local Universe Marble Box Set a few years back. We supplemented other marbles for planets that weren't included in the set.

Geography/Culture:

My Place in the Universe

We've done an activity similar to this in the past, but it was not as detailed in location. Originally I wanted to use stacked boxes to represent each place, but I kept running into adhesive issues, and didn't want to cause Bulldozer to go into anaphylactic shock. So, I decided to create my own printable. The kiddos will cut out each circle and draw a picture representing each place. Once all circles have been cut out and colored, they'll staple them together. I've provided a control in case they need help with the order.

Source: I created the printable for this activity as part of my Milky Way & Solar System Printable Pack 1. For you free copy, click on the link located at the bottom of this post.

Important People in the History of the Universe

Jason and I wanted to provide a little history lesson for the kiddos in the way of introducing philosophers, scientists, astronomers, etc. It was so much fun and helped them understand that the study of the universe is always evolving. Again, our timing couldn't have been more perfect with new pictures of Pluto coming this week. This event really brought the idea behind this activity to life.

Source: Jason created the cards for this activity as part of my Milky Way & Solar System Printable Pack 1. For your free copy, click on the link at the bottom of this post.

As mentioned in a previous post activities on our shelves for our units studies will now be divided into four posts: